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Dasha the tiger cools off in her pool at the zoo in Duisburg, Germany, during the recent European heatwave.

Environment

Investigating the Development of the Modern-Day Zoo

Zoo scholar Natascha Meuser reflects on the connection between zoo architecture and the natural environment, the balance between science and slick branding, and the zoo building's hybrid role as a prison, theater, and museum.

Debris is seen inside Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on April 16th, 2019, a day after a fire that devastated the building in the center of the French capital.

Why the Notre Dame Fire Is a Loss of Collective Memory

An art historian and theorist explains how places become invested with cultural meaning and memory, and what happens when we lose them.

Smoke and flames rise during a fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in central Paris on April 15th, 2019.

Viewfinder: A Fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

Smoke and flames rise during a fire at the landmark Notre Dame Cathedral in central Paris on April 15th, 2019.

Pacific Standard Staff

Commuters and train passengers walk through the main concourse of of Grand Central Station.

Social Justice

Is There a Dark Side to the Preservation of Grand Central Terminal?

While the rescue of Grand Central seems like a clear-cut case of good over evil, the role of historic preservation in the 21st-century city can be more complex.

Feargus O'Sullivan

Office workers ride an escalator in the lobby of the Hearst Tower, the first building in New York to get LEED certification.

Environment

The Past, Present, and Future of Sustainable Architecture

In the era of climate change, do the current standards of environmentally sound building practices—developed in the late '90s—still hold up?

Danvers State Hospital, Massachusetts.

News in Brief

Can We Repurpose More Old Mental Hospitals?

The stigma attached to "insane asylums" can be hard to shake, but destroying the structures can mean erasing important parts of our history.

A termite mound catches the evening sun in the Masai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya.

Environment

Could the Future of Air Conditioning Be Found Inside Termite Mounds?

The fusion of architecture and ecology allows termites to control the climate of their structures without burning a single fossil fuel.

News in Brief

America Is Experiencing a Front Porch Resurgence

People around the U.S. are rediscovering their fondness for a classic architectural staple.

Lynn Freehill-Maye

news and updates

Environment

Magnitude 7.1 Earthquake Hits Mexico City

The quake comes just 11 days after a magnitude 8.2 earthquake rocked the southern part of the country.

News in Brief

How Feminist Architecture Is Challenging Socially Conservative Policy in 2017

An architect currently working on abortion clinics in Mississippi and Alabama discusses how recent TRAP laws and protests…

Pacific Standard Staff